PRODUCTIVITY QUALITY IMPROVEMENTS FOR TAPE LAYING MACHINES

摘要

Aircraft program ramps-up have been instigating improvements in the productivity of AdvancedrnTape Laying machines for several years. These challenges have been addressed in several steps,rnand have mainly concentrated on the tape laying itself: offline pre-cutting of complex courses,rnincreasing of tape width from 6” to 12”, speeding-up the machine feedrate and optimizingrnprogramming.rnThe latest improvements have turned to a broader view; considering the process as a whole inrnorder to optimize the floor-to-floor time.rnThis paper will highlight the benefit of 6-axis tape laying operation in increasing the precision ofrnthe lap and gap of adjacent courses, thus significantly reducing non-conformities. By respectingrnthe perfect perpendicularity of the head in relation to the tool surface, we can practicallyrneliminate hand reworking.rnWe will also highlight an automated scanning system (In Process Inspection or IPI) whichrndisplays real-time measurements of the lap and gap of adjacent courses during the process to thernoperator, and at the end of the operation in the form of a ply mapping chart, which is finallyrnstored in a log file in connection with the part history system.rnQuality control inspections at the foot of the machine are shorter, and it becomes easier andrnsimpler to pinpoint deviations on the part. Consequently, human errors in detecting lap and gaprnnon conformities are reduced. The quality control inspection is fully automated and results arerntraceable over the full life cycle of the part.